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Holden powertrain engineers have been enlisted to fine-tune the all-new Malibu’s “fuel efficient and responsive” lineup of four cylinder engines for global markets. Pictured here driving through the coastal town of Phillip Island, the Epsilon II-based midsize sedan is being calibrated on public roads as well as at Holden’s Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria.

Holden’s collaboration with the Malibu project is part of The General’s global workshare strategy, in which global resources and engineering know-how are used to develop future vehicles. Holden will continue to work on the ‘Bu until the end of 2012, at which point it will go on sale in Australia (and we presume the rest of Oceania as well) wearing the Holden badge. It will mark the first time the Malibu nameplate sees Australian shores.

Elsewhere around the world, the new Malibu will be sold wearing the Chevrolet bow tie. It’s a crucial product for General Motors and Chevrolet — and will be GM’s first truly global midsize vehicle, being available in almost 100 countries around the world and replacing two separate vehicles — the last-generation Malibu as well as the Epica — a vehicle once sold under the Holden/Chevrolet/Daewoo brands, sometimes wearing the Tosca nameplate (to add an aspect of confusion… just for fun).

The GM Authority Take

The Malibu is a great vehicle — a segment leader as far as I’m concerned (watch GM Authority’s first impressions from New York — click here and here). But answer me this: why can’t the Malibu usher in the global Chevrolet name to Australia? It’s not like the ‘Bu is a Holden, anyway… In fact, it’s nearly the same size and has more interior room compared to the (also) midsize Commodore.

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11 Comments

We had Chevs in Australia for years, Dad started with the 1926 then 1937 sedan & 1937 panel van followed by 1948 sedan & 1947 GMC van. I have always owned Holdens from the 48 series up to the Commodore.

Why don’t you leave the Commodore imported over seas as a Commodore instead of rebadged as a bow tie Chevy?

Because Holden — in all fairness — only makes one car: the Commodore (and its derivates – Caprice and Ute). So why not call Chevys, Chevys — in Australia — since there are more of those than “true” Holden products (based on the Zeta)?

I thought you’d backed off this silly idea of yours to Americanise the world. Americans love to think that without them the whole world would be at it’s knees, but perhaps you should take a look at our economy compared to yours.

The good of US of A is no longer the superpower it once was. I was recently holidaying in Florida and was speechless at the state of the Union. I visited the iconic Kennedy Space Center and was saddened to learn that NASA is laying off 600 staff currently working on the Shuttle Program.

Footnote: I drove around for a week in a crappy Chevy Impala but my only other option was a Crown Vic, so the Chevy won out there,

Dude, if you think that this is about my personal agenda in “Americanizing” the world, you’re totally missing the point. There is no nationalistic or patriotic agenda here. Chevy — for all I care — could be called “The Sausage Brand” — and I would still recommend that it be globalized (and introduced where it currently doesn’t exist). So let’s not turn what is a simple business decision (albeit one with long-term success factors) into one of politics and national pride. That’s not what this is about.

For instance, I am an ardent proponent of globalizing the Opel brand… And bringing it to the States to replace Buick. It’s what’s best for The General going forward, not what’s best for my personal national agenda (not sure if I have one).

I understand that you disagree, but there is very little to argue about when discussing the creation of a global brand. Especially since we’ve already discussed this already — and have determined the fact that those who truly care about Holden buy the Zetas. Everything else could be a Holden by Chevrolet (or vice versa) to start with.

Yeapp, the Commodore is a midsizer. 192-194 inches long (depending on bumper length/configuration), placing it squarely in the midsize bracket. For the 2005-2015 time period:
A compact car is about 180 inches in length
A midsize car is about 190 inches in length
A full size car is about 200 inches in length and above

When you account for spatial (space efficiency) differences, a RWD car will usually have bigger exterior dimensions but have less interior space compared to a comparably-sized FWD vehicle… Like the new Malibu.

Maybe in America but not here, Commodore is classed as large ie: the Falcon and Commodore are coloquially referred to as ‘a big Aussie 6’. I cannot help but think the ‘bu is a little too large to be called a midsizer here. Even calling the Cruze a small car in Australia is a long-shot, which GMH incidently do. Its nearly the same size as the first VB Commodore from 1978…. Is the Malibu bigger than a Camry? It should have been Camry sized for our market so as to not step on the toes of the Commodore. I really think that Holden could probably run with just the Commodore and the Cruze without something in between, The Cruze does have plenty of room and the locally made version is winning praise with the media and public alike as being dynamically superior to the GM-DAT version. The SIDI 3.0 V6s in base Commodores are returning milage as good as if not better than most 4 cyl mid-sizers on the market anyway so i’m still at pains to see what advantage the Malibu will bring here.

So if the Falcon and Commodore are full size, what does that make the Caprice/Statesman?

You’re right in pointing out that cars have grown over the last few decades. That’s why today, it’s an agreed-upon fact among the auto industry that a midsize car is around 190 inches in length. That said, the Malibu — which is around the same size as the Camry — will provide more interior room than the Commodore thanks to its space-efficient FWD setup. I don’t think it would be viable for GM to develop an entirely new model (or variant) of the Malibu for the Australian/Oceania market — there just isn’t enough volume to justify it (outside of the local favorite Commodore/Caprice/Ute, of course).

For one thing, the Malibu won’t deliver nearly as engaging of a driving experience as the Commodore… so it will speak to a completely different audience. It’s pretty much a direct Camry competitor, which means un-engaging, soft, cushy driving… at least when compared to the likes of a properly-balanced RWD Commodore. But the ‘Bu will get much better fuel economy, somewhere around the 35 mile per gallon mark on the highway (15 KML).

Here’s my question to you: how is the Aussie-built Cruze dynamically superior to that built by GM-DAT? Are you referring to the Z-Link rear suspension set-up?

Precisely or Watts Link as its called here. The suspension tune has been further ‘Australianised’ on the regular torsion beam models aswell. Subtle changes at the least. I guess our market demands stiffer suspension set-ups and pointier handling all the while being able to soak up our abhorrant country roads which resemble a moonscape! It could be said that the Cruze tune here has been set up to mimic its larger Commodore brother, even though it is a front-driver. On the Statesman/Caprice, the term ‘land-yacht’ would sum up where they fit in our market 😉

Or, “sofa on wheels”. But I don’t think one has truly experienced one of those “types” of cars until they’ve driven the US Chevy Impala/Buick Lucerne/Cadillac DTS — or perhaps even the Lexus ES. Those define the “barge on wheels” class!

Oh, and my Cruze has the Z-/Watt’s-link and I love its handling (and everything else about it). My only complaint is the cheesy engine (1.4 liter turbo ECOTEC in my case).

I’ve said this before, but the Cruze is simply too good of a car to waste with an underpowered engine. At least the 2012s will make the stick available with the turbos in the US.

So what does Holden do further for the Cruze as far as the suspenders go?

BTW, plenty of SIDI 3 litre V6s here getting 35-40 MPG on the Highway here, so look out come Zeta 2 with a bit of the excess flab gone. My SS-V ute gets about 30 MPG on the highway, admittedly when i’m tippy toeing it. Not bad for a 6 litre V8, however it will only return about 15 MPG when I drive it like it’s supposed to be